Heat Wave
by Tjay M
Summary: *Sequel to Power Outage* The portal to the past is finally open. Ryou is heartbroken and wishes to be with Bakura again. But going to Ancient Egypt wasn't what he had in mind. What will become of Ryou and Bakura's budding romance. Memory World Arc.
1. Zork's Control

Summary: Bakura surcomes to Zork's power. The portal to the past is finally open. Ryou wanted nothing more to be with his Yami... however, thanks to a stupid wish, this wasn't what he had in mind.  
>Title: Ryou's Series of Misfortunate Events: Part 2: Heat Wave<br>Chapter Title: Prologue: Zork's Control.  
>Rating: R<br>Pairing(s): Bakura x Ryou. Kinda Zork x Ryou kinda thing... you'll see.  
>Warning(s): Yaoi, abuse, Bakura OOCness, Blood, cussing.<br>Beta:  
>Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh…<br>/Ryou to Bakura/  
>Bakura to Ryou/  
>-Zork to Bakura-<br>~ Scene/time change  
>'<em>Thoughts<em>'  
>"<span>Egyptian when spoken<span>"

_**Ryou's Series of Misfortunate Events**_:  
>Power Outage<br>Heat Wave (We are here!) 

You should read Power Outage so that you can understand what the heck is going on. I'm really sorry I didn't get this up sooner...

Mana and Kisara are back!

X

Prologue

Things in apartment 15E had changed a great deal in the two months since the snow storm Kisara and Mana caused. Bakura's change didn't happen overnight. The beatings Ryou had once received daily, were now few and far in between. Ryou was more open and could get away with a lot of things he used to be punished for. Ryou and Bakura now shared the bed in Ryou's room, in fact, they now shared Ryou's whole room, not just the bed.

Ryou no longer questioned Bakura's behavior since the snow storm. However, over the past few days Bakura had started acting stranger than usual. Ryou took little notice of it because Bakura always acted odd; he took it has Bakura's "normal" behavior. Little did Ryou realize it was Zork. The darkness inside of Bakura and the ring was once again flooding his mind.

Zork would often tease Bakura about his feelings for his hikari and make threats against Ryou's safety and life among other numerous things to Bakura's own body.

-Thief... you are so pathetic.-

Bakura's eyes snapped open. It was that voice again. Bakura sighed, another sleepless night. He glanced over to Ryou who was sleeping peacefully. The boy had no idea what was happening. Bakura sat up and threw the covers off him. He was lucky he didn't need sleep to function.

-Why would _you_ pick such a weakling as a _lover_... you never could do anything right.-  
>All he wanted was to be left alone. ~He's not my lover...~ Bakura announced absentmindedly as he stared at Ryou. He had given up on fighting against the darkness a long time ago. Bakura now knew how Ryou felt when he would take control of the body they used to share, and sometimes still did, locking the boy in his soul room for Zork did the same thing. Sometimes Zork would force him to watch the disgusting things he did with the spirit's body.<br>-But he's still weak...-

~What do you want from me!~ Bakura snapped.

-I want what you want... thief,- the voice paused and forced Bakura to look at the sleeping form next to him. -Revenge!-

~

The sun slowly rose above the tall skyscrapers. Ryou yawned softly, he reached out for Bakura, only to find that he was alone. He glanced around the room while wiping the sleep from his eyes. He thought about getting up from the warm comfortable bed, however, he decided against it and rolled over.

/Bakura... where are you?/

He waited for Bakura's answer, but was met with silence.

/Bakura?/

Silence.

Ryou sat up and stared at the wooden door that blocked his view of anything outside of his... their... bedroom. Pulling himself the warmth of the bed he allowed his feet to fall onto the plush light blue carpet. The walls were a sickly off-white, reminding Ryou of a hospital. Bakura had mentioned to him a few times that he needed to paint the walls a different colour.

Opening the door he stepped into the hallway, turning he drowsily made his way to the kitchen. Bakura wasn't there. Living room held no sign of life either, after a walk around of the apartment, Ryou concluded that Bakura had left.

~

~Now what?~ Bakura snarled. It was too early and the museum was closed. It didn't open for another two hours. He stood in front of the large double doors which was the entrance to the Domino City Museum. Inside was Pharaoh's Tablet, and the key to past.

-You're a thief so break in, stupid-

Bakura huffed angrily before proceeding to use the Millennium Ring's power to open the locked doors. "Too simple." he muttered to himself. Upon his not so grand entrance he headed towards the basement floor. He remember being here once before, just before Battle City.

He stood before the large stone tablet. Upon it was the Pharaoh dueling High Priest Seth, with the Blue Eyes White Dragon and the Dark Magician hovering over them. Both held their respective Millennium Items in hand. He looked upon the stone for a few more seconds and silently wondered why he wasn't the one standing across from the Pharaoh.

-Well? Hurry up, we haven't got all day, you know-

Bakura placed his hand in the centre of the tablet as the bright white light engulfed him. He forced his eyes shut to avoid going blind.

~

Ryou gasped as he reread Bakura's note.

_Hikari-baka_

_I have found a portal to the past, I'm going back to my own time. If I don't see you again I am sorry for all the wrongs I have done and all the shit I put you through._

_Good-Bye_

_-Bakura._

Bakura's penmanship was messy and scratchy at best, making it hard to read the note.  
>Bakura's note fell to the floor. Ryou soon followed, dropping to his knee's. Just as everything was looking up for him, this happens. He hoped it was a joke, but he knew it wasn't. His tears fell freely from his green eyes, no move was made to stop them.<p>

/Why? Why did you have to leave me! Why couldn't you take me with you?/ Ryou slammed his fist on the floor in frustration before breaking down into heart-wrenching sobs.

~

Mana gave her partner a worried look. "We weren't counting on Zork's power to have grown so much so quickly. Our plan has back fired. You did realize that, right?"

"I know, I know. But what are we going to do about it? What can we do about it?" Kisara replied softly, her worried look gave Mana the chills. "What do you think we should do? Bakura's past is going to repeat itself without Ryou."

Mana thought long and hard for a moment before blurting out, "Why not reunite them, in the past. We could send Ryou back. It wouldn't be that hard."

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Please, what could go wrong? And if anything does go wrong, we can just send him back to his own time."

Mana return to the pool of water, which acted like a window, allowing her to watch Ryou's reaction.

"Alright. But I will send him back if there is a problem. Simple as that."

~

Ryou was pulled from his sulking on the kitchen floor by a bright rainbow coloured light that appeared above his head. Next thing he knew he was sucked into a void of darkness. Moments later, everything got hot, the heat was overwhelming and he was falling. His eyes snapped open, he was staring at the light blue sky and massive sand dunes. He could hear his own screaming before colliding into a body of water. The force of the impact knocked the wind out of him and he was too deep to reach the surface in time...

X

What a place to end it. Well I finally got it done, I know it's late... but it's up... and I have a lot of things planned for Bakura and Ryou...  
>Please Review.<p> 


	2. The Cruelty of Beautiful Egypt

Title: Ryou's Series of Misfortunate Events: Part 2: Heat Wave

Chapter Title: Chapter 1: The Cruelty of Beautiful Egypt

Rating: T

Pairing(s): Bakura x Ryou. Kinda Zork x Ryou thing...you'll see.

Warning(s): Yaoi, abuse, Bakura OOCness, Blood, cussing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh…

Beta: Himitsu

/Ryou to Bakura/

/Bakura to Ryou/

-Zork to Bakura-

(Bakura to Zork)

~ Scene/time change

`_Thoughts_'

"Talk in Egyptian"

A/N: This is the first chapter on the one series I've been so excited about! More excited then I am when YGO comes on...

I suggest that if you haven't already... read Power Outage...

How Ryou got to Egypt isn't as important as what he does while he's there. (Warning: this contains Thief King Bakura/Ryou pairing as well as Yami Bakura/Ryou pairing.) Also this fic is now AU so the events from this point on are not the same as they are in the Anime, but some parts will remain the same...

A pair of strong arms wrapped around Ryou's lithe body, forcing him to the surface as much-needed oxygen filled his deprived lungs. His breathing was heavy, gasping, and Ryou was shaking due to his near death experience. The desert-like heat bore down upon himself and his mysterious savior as they floated in the refreshingly cold water. Ryou gaped at his surroundings; it was paradise, an oasis.

It was a valley, surrounded by mountains, cliffs, and very rocky terrain that kept the land a secret from harsh desert sun and invading armies. Ryou guessed that at the top of the tallest mountain was a body of water, for rushing down the steep cliff was a waterfall. On the side across from the breathtaking falls, just at the water's edge, was a cave with various items scattered on the sandy floor. Around the water's edge were trees and plants; of what type he couldn't tell.

"Nice, isn't it?" A very familiar voice whispered in his ear. Ryou inhaled sharply, his breathing calmed from deep ragged gasps to a regular pattern, as his savior continued. "Welcome to my home away from home, _hikari_." The arms holding him tightly suddenly loosened, allowing Ryou to turn around and face the other man.

He looked just like Bakura...but at the same time he was so different. His hair was still white and untamed, but much shorter. His skin was tanned; Ryou knew the harsh Egyptian sun was to blame—or rather to thank—for that. Ryou immediately recognized the unique scar that rested under Bakura's right eye. He couldn't see what his darker half was wearing, but whatever it was seemed to be scarlet.

"I am... in your time?" Ryou questioned, "Oh…and why didn't you tell me you were drop dead sexy when you were alive?" he blurted out.

Bakura's crimson eyes narrowed, "So, you're saying I wasn't 'drop dead sexy' before?" He let go of his hikari and began to swim to the shore, not waiting for Ryou's flustered reply.

"I didn't say that." Ryou called after him. "Hey, wait for me!" he yelled before attempting to catch up with the thief king. Bakura sat on the edge of the pool, with his feet still submerged in the water. Ryou's hands connected with the dry land, but the ledge was too high and he found himself unable to pull out of the water. Bakura looked down at him with a smug look, but his amusement was quickly replaced as he glared at Ryou.

"How did you get here?" Bakura asked sharply. "Only someone holding a Millennium item, or one who can control Shadow Magic, is able to travel to this time. And don't lie to me." He added harshly.

"I don't know. I remember...I was in the kitchen when suddenly a bright light appeared and sucked me in…like a vortex. The next thing I knew, I was falling. And you know the rest."

"Fuck, I know, I heard you. I think everyone in all of Egypt heard you." Bakura joked. He held out his hand, which Ryou glad accepted. Pulling the smaller boy from the water was simple, though the angle was awkward, and this resulted in Ryou falling onto Bakura's lap. Ryou blushed; he had never sat on Bakura's lap before. Bakura took the time to remove his white trimmed red cloak, which was still damp, and laid it aside.

"Well thank you for saving me..." Ryou was about to give Bakura a thank-you kiss when he noticed he was still in his school uniform. He also noticed what Bakura was wearing, and broke down into a fit of giggles. "And nice skirt." Ryou added.

Bakura snarled playfully, "Perfect for easy access. Just fuck and go." Ryou's blush deepened at Bakura's lurid remark. "Actually it's a kilt, and it's what most men in Egypt wore...you got a problem with it?"

Ryou gave Bakura a quick peck on the lips before jumping up, ready to run. "Yes, yes I do." And with that he was gone like a shot. The Thief King quickly gave chase. Ryou was fast but he was faster, and catching Ryou was no problem. The two landed on the hard ground with a thud.

"I suggest you take that last remark of yours back." Bakura threatened playfully. He couldn't remember a time when he had acted so carefree and actually let his guard down like this. Though he would never admit it out loud, he was having fun. Since the snowstorm he had let his walls down, although he only did so around Ryou. It had taken him a bit more time to be able to play around like this.

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it?" Ryou shot back with a smug look of defiance spreading across his 'innocent' face. Ryou was now sprawled out on his back, pinned by the spirit's comfortable weight. He noted that Egyptian Bakura's shoulders were wider; he had a lot more muscle, including a killer six pack abs (maybe even an eight pack, however Bakura's kilt left Ryou's mind to wonder), and he was also a good six inches taller.

"I'll make y-" Bakura empty threat was cut off by the sound of an explosion. Bakura looked to the sky, which was now tainted with a black cloud of smoke. Bakura jumped to his feet with incredible speed and agility. "Get up." his voice had lost its playful tone and was replaced with one that was deadly serious. Ryou obeyed with the help of the thief's hand. A whistle broke the sudden silence between them. Seconds later the echoing sound of hooves beating the desert floor could be heard. "Ryou, meet my trusted companion, Kuru-Eruna." he said, referring to the massive chocolate stallion that now stood at his side.

Ryou's reply was nothing more than an amazed whisper, "He's beautiful..."

"Have you ever been on a horse before?" Bakura questioned, to which Ryou shook his head, "No? I was hoping for another answer." Bakura muttered to himself as he mounted his horse. Bakura pulled his hikari up onto the massive animal, placing the boy in front of him.

"You named your horse after your village..." Ryou stated absentmindedly, leaning back to rest his head on Bakura's chest. He wasn't sure when Bakura had done it, but he was once again wearing his semi-damp cloak. It was the first time Ryou noticed that near the edge of the cloak's cuffs were two white bands resting about an inch part on each sleeve. Bakura nudged Kuru-Eruna's sides, setting the power animal into motion. As soon as they began moving, Ryou placed his right hand on Bakura's thigh to brace himself in his seat.

"Yes, I did..." Bakura replied unnecessarily. "Try to relax, I'm not going to let you fall." he whispered in the boy's ear. He quickly felt Ryou's body relax against his. Bakura now concentrated on navigating his way out of the hidden oasis.

Ryou eased his eyes closed and listened to steady rhythm of Bakura's heart. "Where are we going?" Ryou asked, but he was slightly discouraged when he received no answer. Suddenly all movement stopped, and Bakura inhaled sharply. Ryou cracked his eyes open to see what caused Bakura's normal pattern to change, but Ryou's relaxed visage soon changed to one of sheer horror. A village, no more than ten miles from their current location, was engulfed in flames.

"Mothers, children, families, all trapped within the fire. Burnt...no, cooked...while still alive and screaming." Bakura murmured, "I had to see it for myself..."

This sight was so familiar; twenty years ago he stood the same distance away from the only home he had ever known and watched it being burnt to the ground. However, with his home, there were no people left alive to be cooked by the flames.

"Mother, I will avenge you... even if it's the last thing I ever do." He repeated once again under his breath the same vow he had taken that fateful day twenty years ago.

"What...what kind of person would do such a horrible thing!" Ryou gasped in shock. He turned to look up at Bakura because he could no longer look at that burning carnage in front of him.

Bakura gave Kuru-Eruna a nudge, turning the horse away from the incinerating village, and rode off in the opposite direction.

Bakura sighed to himself, it was the first time he had been alone since Ryou had 'dropped in,' and to be honest he missed Ryou's company. The boy was running through the street-side market shops, but the sun was going to be setting soon and he knew that Ryou wasn't prepared to handle an Egyptian night. Though it would not be as cold as the nights during the power outage, it would still be _very_ cold. He rested his head against the stone wall in front of him. Bakura had given Ryou almost all his money; he had just enough left to buy about five decent meals, meaning they would be sleeping in the cave at the oasis.

His mind wandered back to the immense changes since the damned power outage, which in a way was sort of a blessing. As he'd said before, Bakura's walls were coming down and now that Ryou was no longer scared of him it was a lot more playful and fun, since Ryou no longer had to be afraid of getting the shit beat out of him. Recently Bakura had talked Ryou into adding some colour into the tiny apartment, something that would never have happened before.

He shifted his position and straightened out his legs. Turning his head towards the market, Bakura caught a glimpse of his hikari heading in his direction but something wasn't right. He couldn't put his finger on it...but something was seriously out of place. Bakura forced himself to stand up, crossing his arms over his chest he leaned against the wall; never tearing his eyes from his hikari.

"Ryou...come here, now!" Bakura ordered. Being an experienced thief he learned to trust his infallible instincts. Ryou gave his dark a strange look, but complied.

"What is it?" Ryou asked, completely oblivious to everything around him.

"We're leaving. Now!" he demanded as he grabbed Ryou by the arm. "Follow me."

"Why? What's wrong? What going on?" Ryou asked in worry, being tugged around by his other half who had an iron grip on his arm. It was as though Bakura was afraid that if he let go, Ryou would disappear.

"I have a bad feeling, Ryou...something isn't right about this place. I wouldn't really care...if I were alone...but if anything were to happen to you..." Bakura's voice quietly trailed off as he dragged Ryou through the dark alleyways of the small village.

Ryou allowed Bakura to pull him along, mostly because he was too shocked to do anything else. Not only had Bakura used Ryou's name, but he had admitted that he cared about him. Ryou felt as though he was in a maze, being pulled in every direction until they had reached the edge of the village where Kuru-Eurna was waiting.

Bakura wasted no time in mounting the massive animal. He had reached his hand out to grab Ryou's when a child's scream rang through the empty village streets, the streets that were only seconds ago filled with busy people. Bakura harshly pulled his host onto his lap and took off into the sunset.

"Bakura...aren't you going to help that girl? The one who screamed..." Ryou questioned his dark; looking up at man whose lap he was sitting on.

"She's already dead...there's no point," Bakura's reply was cold and emotionless. "My time is not a nice place, and it's certainly not a place for you to stay...you shouldn't be here, you should be home where it's safe." he added after several minutes of riding.

The powerful animal slowed to a trot when they reached the entrance to the hidden oasis, before coming to a complete stop. Bakura jumped off first, then pulled Ryou down into his arms.

"If I were home, where it's safe, I wouldn't be with you..." Ryou murmured softly before pressing his lips against Bakura's. It took Bakura a second to respond, kissing Ryou back in a way he had never done before. It was unlike any kiss they had ever shared; something different, more passionate, and almost sexual was felt by both of them. Bakura instinctively pulled Ryou closer so that their bodies were molded against each other, which Ryou allowed, wanting the protection that only his other self could provide. Bakura noticed this difference and started to wonder what it was leading to, this seemed to send an interesting vibe through Bakura's body and he was raging for more.

-Fuck him.- A casual voice interrupted the moment

Bakura's eyes snapped open; he hadn't even realized that he had closed them. His mind reeling as he stared at Ryou who still had his eyes shut, still deep into their kiss. The voice in the back of Bakura's mind laughed as though the look on his face was absolutely humorous.

-Imagine how tight his virgin ass must be.- Zork chuckled before stating lowly, -Fuck him or I'll do it for you.-

(Don't get too cocky) Bakura barked in the back of his mind, (Not tonight...) He was used to Zork making comments like those against Ryou, and so far nothing had become of them.

It was Ryou who pulled away first, looking up at him with those wide, innocent eyes. Bakura hesitated on his own answer, his body was siding with Zork's suggestion, but he tried to keep his self-control. Bakura kept repeating to himself that this wasn't the place or the time for that...and hell, he didn't even know if his hikari wanted him that way. Most likely he did not.

~Not tonight...~ he repeated, more to himself than Zork.

With that Bakura pulled away from Ryou and vanished into the darkness that shadowed the tiny oasis.

Ohh... the sexual tension is beginning to grow... Anyways Chapter 1 is done... so what does everyone think?


	3. Tension

Title: Ryou's Series of Misfortunate Events: Part 2: Heat Wave

Chapter Title: Chapter 2: Tension

Rating: X

Pairing(s): Bakura x Ryou. Kinda Zork x Ryou kinda thing... you'll see.

Warning(s): Yaoi, abuse, Bakura OOCness, Blood, cussing solo.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh…

/Ryou to Bakura/

/Bakura to Ryou/

-Zork to Bakura-

~Bakura to Zork~

~ Scene/time change

`_Thoughts_'

"This is spoken Egyptian"

A/N: Sorry about the late update... please... forgive me? I made this chapter worth the wait if that means anything...

It's been a while since I wrote anything lemony... minus 'Real Intentions' which is het... so I gave all my loyal readers... that's you... a little yaoi snippet. Mwhahahaha... hope you all enjoy...

Bakura growled as he headed towards the tomb of _King_ Atemu's father. His mind was still focused on the night before... what Zork had said... and that kiss. He had kissed his hikari before but not like that. He wondered if Zork was all talk... or rather he hoped Zork was all talk. The thought of Zork forcing him on Ryou made his heart ache. His thoughts suddenly turned to those of self-loathing. He wasn't supposed to care, he wasn't supposed to feel like this, and not towards someone as weak and pathetic as his host. He was supposed to be the great King of Thieves, not some love sick school boy.

He took is sudden frustrations out on Kuru-Eruna, pushing the loyal animal to move faster. The sturdy powerful horse was being pushed to his limits, however it obeyed his master's command and pushed the exhaustion away.

"Come on Kuru-Eruna, we're almost there." Bakura murmured in the horse's ear. The tomb slowly appeared in the distance over the massive sand dunes.

Ryou sighed to himself. He didn't understand why Bakura had walked away like that, after all the progress he had made with him, from horrific beatings to an almost loving relationship. Everything between had changed during the snowstorm, however, it was more or less as if Bakura was forcing himself to be nice at times and other times it was as if he had always been like that. He was well aware that change never happens overnight, and that Bakura really was working at it but sometimes it were as if Bakura didn't want to change, but forced himself to be affectionate or caring because he had to.

Forced or not he liked the change that had occurred during and after the snowstorm. One memory that stood out was the rat in the sink. He smiled every time he thought about it. Heck he smiled whenever he thought of any of the events that came to pass during the snowstorm.

Ryou groaned when he rose from his slightly uncomfortable sitting position to a standing one. His legs ached with cramps, his muscles stretched out as he yawned. Bakura had left before dawn, the spirit was a awake when Ryou drifted to sleep by the fire Bakura had made, and when he awoke this morning Bakura was gone, and the fire had died. Last night... after the kiss neither spoke, not even a simple 'goodnight' was uttered. There were so many things Ryou had wanted to say... but couldn't seem to put thoughts to words.

Moving from the damp and dark cave into the bright and harsh sunlight caused the boy to shield his eyes but only for a second, giving himself time to adjust. The area was so undesert like, it had greenery and water and a waterfall. It was nothing like the textbooks had said. He outside the cave for only a few minutes, but found himself severely overdressed, one thing the textbooks were right about was the fact... it was hot as in sweat to death hot. Unable to do much else he stripped down to his boxers.

There wasn't much for him to do so he spent most of his day gathering fire wood, afterwards he stripped his boxers off and went for a swim.

Bakura couldn't believe his luck. The trip to the former, and very much dead, King's tomb was more than well worth it. Not only was he now a self-made millionaire, but he could also participate in Shadow Games. The sick and very twisted idea that had formed in his head, he did have to credit Zork as well, was the reason for the casket that was tied to Kuru-Eurna. He wasn't sure where to next, back the oasis or straight to the palace. He thought about it for a minute and decided it would be best to go the palace under the cover of darkness, which wasn't for quite some time.

As he made is way back the oasis he stopped cold in tracks after finally hearing the thuds of the casket. There was no way he could allow Ryou to see this. He knew the perfect place to hide his little surprise for Atemu. The city that burned yesterday would be empty and was fairly close and in the direction of the Palace.

After dropping off the decaying Royal's body he headed towards the oasis with his new found fortune. However as he rounded the last turn in the maze of paths that lead to his hidden home away from home he was met with a sight that literally took his breath away. All thoughts drained from his mind, his throat suddenly became dryer than the desert itself, he was frozen in place with mouth gaped as he stared at Ryou's naked, beautifully flawless body, using the waterfall as a makeshift shower. Ryou was standing back to and was unaware of Bakura's presence.

-Your tongue is getting dusty... what are you trying to do? Catch flies?-

Zork drawled lazily. Bakura almost immediately shut his mouth, but continued to rake his eyes over Ryou's lithe form. The droplets of water reflected the sun's rays in a haze of glittering awe.

Ryou turned to his side slightly to allow the gushing water to cleanse him. He opened his eyes a fraction... that was until he saw Bakura looking at him, then they shot open and a deep scarlet, almost the same colour as Bakura's cloak, blush was painted over his cheeks. He did the only thing he could think of and sat down in the water, using it to cover himself. He also gave Bakura a death glare.

Bakura gave his host a strange look, pretending nothing had even happen. But figured it best to leave... not only for Ryou's privacy... but also his own. As he now had a litt... err... a big hard problem in his southern area he needed to attend to. Quickly.

Ryou watched as Bakura turned his back on him and left, not noticing the large bulging problem his Yami had. He couldn't believe he didn't notice Bakura sooner... speaking of which, just how long was Bakura standing there?

A wave of embarrassment flooded his thoughts and he became very self-conscious. As soon as he was safely out of the water he covered himself with every single article of clothing he had discarded throughout the day. Ryou moved out of the sun and back to dampness of the cave, which was slowly become his new home. He groaned and waited for Bakura to return, he was unsure as to why he would wait, but waited nevertheless. However as the hours past, there remained no sign of Bakura.

~Warning Solo!~

His back was flush against the rocky cliff. His right hand was vigorously pumping his hard cock. His eye lids drifted shut as he let the waves of self-induced pleasure carry him closer to climax.

_Ryou in all his naked glory, on his knee's before him. Licking and lapping his length with that... that tongue._

Bakura groaned and allowed the mental images play in his thoughts.

_Ryou swirled his tongue over the slit, drinking in the pre-cum that was leaking from him, before taking the head of his cock in his mouth and sucking on it. His hikari wrapped his right hand around his base, applying varying_ _amounts of pressure._

Bakura's hand couldn't seem to move fast enough to satisfy the aching need he had. For Ryou. For that lithe body, that incredible body that incited new desire that ached the entire length of his cock.

_Spiky white hair bobbing down and up, sweet wet heat sliding down and up... sucking licking, humming and grazing and..._

Bakura gave a final groan and released violently, his cum sprayed in every direction. He gasped and jerked in the aftermath of his orgasm.

-So... now you think of him while you whack off... I must admit that was a rather erotic picture-

~Shut up~

Bakura snapped, being in no mood to listen to Zork's taunts. He wiped the sticky cum on a rag he kept on his person for such a reason. He quickly covered himself and just stood not moving, with his eyes closed.

-It's time to leave... time to go to the palace.-

~Kukuku...~

Okay... I know it's short... but... hey... I have to work out some... details.. and figured I shouldn't keep you all waiting any longer.

Please Review... or at least throw this starving author a bone... please!


	4. A Single Tear

Title: Ryou's Series of Misfortunate Events: Part 2: Heat Wave  
>Chapter Title: Chapter 3: A Single Tear<br>Rating: M  
>Pairing(s): Bakura x Ryou. Kinda Zork x Ryou kinda thing... you'll see<br>Warning(s): Yaoi, abuse, Bakura OOCness, Blood, cussing solo.  
>Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh…<p>

/Ryou to Bakura/

/Bakura to Ryou/

-Zork to Bakura-

~Bakura to Zork~

"This is spoken Egyptian"

The Story is moving a lot slower than I had hoped... so time to stir things up... enjoy!

So this story is flowing with Memory world… I refer to events that happened on the show.

X

The looks on their faces were priceless... Ryou was here too? But... he hadn't come with them... did Bakura force him here? How could Ryou Bakura... hikari to the evil bastard Yami Bakura... be here?

The tall young blonde named Jou, slammed his fist down, he was also the first to speak on the subject of Ryou. "We have to find him! We just have to! Who knows what that asshole is doing to him."

Everyone knew Jou was right... they just had to find him, and it was race against time. "But where are going to look?" Yuugi asked softly.

Atemu whom was still cleaning himself from the earlier events of this week was thinking about how Bakura had taken the Millennium Puzzle and had let him fall to his death, seeing his father again. He sighed, he had never been so confused. What was Bakura's problem anyway? All he knew was Bakura was a monster... and he felt sorry for Ryou. He wondered how Ryou was doing and how badly Bakura was treating him and then it hit him. He looked up at his friends and interjected, "Everywhere. I'll send out all the men I can spare to find him. I won't let Bakura harm another person... ever."

Like he had promised he called every guard he could spare, about 1,000 and sent them to search every mountain, every valley, every village and every body of water. The search was ordered to go as far as four sunsets from the palace. Thin pale boy with white hair.

Everyone was hoping their friend would be found before Bakura did something... horrible. "Somethings been bugging me for a while," Anzu interjected. "How did Ryou-kun get here?" She ran her hand through her chocolate brown hair... things had just gone from bad to worse to horrific. Everyone's stress level was rising. The only one who wasn't on verge of a mental breakdown was Mana and only because she had no idea what was going on or so they thought.

X

Ryou sat on the water's edge, his feet splashing in the warm pool of water. Bakura hadn't spoken to him since he returned with the Millennium Puzzle. Bakura acted as if his hikari didn't exist. Ryou gave a defeated sigh he knew had killed... oh what was his name... anyways he couldn't understand how Bakura could be so evil.

He wasn't sure what he said or did to make his Yami angry, or if he was even angry at all. Bakura was too hard to figure out, because once you think you know what he's going to do next, he does something different. The only thing Ryou knew for sure was the Bakura sitting against the wall in the cave, was not the cool, caring, affectionate, egotistical Yami no Bakura he knew. It was as if Bakura had lost all method and had just stop thinking about himself, about Ryou and only cared about what he was going to do next with the royal kingdom and Yami Yuugi.

The thing that terrified Ryou the most was he didn't feel safe anymore, not even around Bakura, not like he used to. He had felt safer around the old abusive Bakura then he did right at this moment.

Ryou wasn't sure how much more he could take before he snapped. At least when Bakura beat him... he existed. It may have been negative, it may have been horrible but Bakura had acknowledged his existence with every punch.

The Millennium Ring was still cool to the touch; he held the useless Item in his hand and stared at it. This was the Ring from his time... and in this time... couldn't do anything... in this time it was just a piece of gold. He wished this item... his Millennium Ring to show him what he was supposed to do next. Where was he supposed to go from here? Should he go to Bakura about his concerns?

Ryou tried to stop the tears from falling. Maybe... maybe Bakura would be better off if he just left. That way he wouldn't be a burden.

X

-How do you know he won't turn on you when he comes face to face with the pharaoh?-

~To be honest I don't know, he promised he wouldn't...~

-Take him to your village with you... let him see what they did to your family... you told him... now show him, show him everything! He's seen what the Pharaoh ordered his men to do... now show him what they did to you.-

Bakura's eyes fluttered open, he didn't notice, but Ryou did, Ryou noticed the colour bleeding away from his Yami's eyes, slowly changing into cold and black.

All he knew is something was going on; something wasn't right anymore. He was backed into a corner with the situation, he couldn't go to Yami for help, he couldn't go to anyone. He just couldn't risk it; Bakura would take it as betrayal. Ryou looked at Bakura, was just sitting leaning against the stony wall staring off into space. Ryou inhaled deeply, he wasn't even sure what he going to say.

"Bakura?"

-Oh look your pretty little lover is talking to you... oh wait... you haven't fucked him yet.-

~Shut up~

"What do you want?" Bakura hissed under his breath, sounding more vicious then intended. He focused his gaze on Ryou. Ryou looked away, doing everything in his power to keep from screaming, the crimson in Bakura's eyes was almost gone. "I asked you a question!" He was harsh, so harsh Ryou flinched, something he hadn't done in months.

Bakura mentally kicked himself, his voice was changing. He hoped that Ryou hadn't noticed, but he knew better. He had seen Ryou flinch and it stung. He would do anything to make Zork vanish... but now... now the line between himself and Zork was beginning to blur, there was nothing left for him to do.

"I... I... I don't want to left behind anymore... please take me with you. Please!" Ryou let it all out, he had no control, and yet he still couldn't bring himself to look Bakura in the eyes. "Something wrong with you, you're changing. I don't even recognize you anymore. I love you and I wish you would tell me what's going on, I want to help you. I want to help you beat Yami Yuugi! You're gone for days sometimes a week and I don't know if you know but I worry about you every minute your gone! And... and... If you leave me here alone again..." He found it in him to stare right into Bakura's eyes and uttered his sentence as a whisper; his voice full of hurt and rejection. "I won't be here when you get back!" Ryou turned around and left, tears streaming down his beautiful face.

Bakura was stunned. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours and yet he was froze in place as Ryou's words sank in. He knew he should have gone after Ryou and he wanted to, but he couldn't move. All he could do was lower his head. His bangs covered his eyes. Everything hit him at once. He had been so wrapped up in revenge and hatred at he had forgotten all about Ryou, he didn't even think about what he had been doing to Ryou's mentality and yet the boy had said he loved him. A single tear fell to the dirt.

As the hours passed Bakura sat motionless, he was lost in the emotional war he was battling. He was finally pulled from his depressed state when Ryou's end of the mind link went into lock down. Ryou had never closed his mind off like this before... Bakura was on his feet in record time and ran out outside of his home away from home. He scanned every surface but Ryou was gone.

The sun was setting... the sun was... 'O_h dear Ra_ _no!_' Ryou wasn't from this time, and wouldn't live through the night on his own, the temperatures were sub-zero after night fall. He whistled for Kuru-Eruna, he wasted no time in beginning his search for his hikari-baka. He had no idea how much time had passed since Ryou left... what if he was too late?

X

Atemu sighed as the situation with Bakura, and the events of the last few days played at his thoughts. Bakura had the Ring, the Eye, and The Puzzle, he had murdered his best friend, and only Ra knows what he was doing to his poor hikari. He just couldn't get the subject out of his mind. The sun was going to rise soon... another sleepless night.

He just couldn't understand why Bakura hated him, and his family so much. They hadn't done anything to him... had they? There was something someone wasn't telling him, he knew that much. What had his father done to Bakura that was so horrible? It had to be something his father did as Bakura was only ten years older than he was.

He was glad he had Anzu, Yuugi, Honda and Jou here with him. Maybe they could help him figure this out. He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps running towards him.

"Pharaoh...," Atemu turned upon hearing his name, a young guard stood before him panting and gasping for air, "we found a boy in the desert... he has a Millennium Item!"

"What?"

"The healer says he won't make it to dawn..."

Kisara looked away. She's couldn't watch it anymore. This was wrong, this wasn't supposed to happen. Something was wrong with Bakura and now everything was ruined. Ryou was missing... all because of Bakura's stupidity. There had to be something she and Mana could do to fix this... wait does Mana even know? She dragged her hand through her long white hair, all that work all those months again... and it was falling apart.

She began pacing she wasn't sure how she was supposed to handle this. She would have to get a hold of Mana, then they could act...

X

Mwhahahahaha!

And so it begins!

I wanted to get my character all prepared and give you all their thoughts. I hope you liked it!

Review! please!


	5. Reunited

Title: Ryou's Series of Misfortunate Events: Part 2: Heat Wave  
>Chapter Title: Chapter 5: Reunited.<br>Rating: M  
>Pairing(s): Bakura x Ryou. Kinda Zork x Ryou kinda thing... you'll see.<br>Warning(s): Yaoi, abuse, Bakura OOCness, Blood, cussing and implied solo.  
>Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh…<br>/Ryou to Bakura/  
>Bakura to Ryou/  
>-Zork to Bakura-<br>~Bakura to Zork~  
>'<em>Thoughts<em>'  
>"<span>This is spoken Egyptian<span>"

A/N: Thanks for the reviews... and sorry about the late update, you know how it is... life.

One final thing I would like to say... the RSoME a collection of short stories or saga's consisting of a minimum of six chapters and a maximum of eight chapters. No more and no less. Some of these short stories will be focused on a challenge or obstacle that Ryou and Bakura must overcome together... each will play off the events of the ones before it. (just so you all know... and aren't expecting some massive 30 chapter story out of this)

I hope that you all will continue to read... as Bakura/Ryou fanfiction seems to be slowly fading away... (thank god for** sglily**... we all love you.) So sglily... for feeding my Bakura/Ryou addiction... This is my way of thanking you... just for you... a lovely chapter. (I hope you like it... please like it!)

Also this chapter gets emotional... so yeah... warning: WAFF and sad...

~*~*~

Bakura had spent all night and into the early hours of the morning searching for his hikari, he rode to the nearest cities and villages, followed every set of foot prints he saw, and was more than ready to comb every single grain of sand in the whole desert. When the sun had risen he was no longer searching for a walking figure, no, he spent all morning looking for a body, Ryou's body, hoping he could at least find some trace of him.

It was mid-afternoon, he had returned from searching not even an hour ago. The chances of find Ryou's body were slim to none, the only other possibility was Ryou had been found by someone... in that case, well, Ryou would be better off dead, either way he knew he would never see Ryou again, ever.

Zork told him to get over it, the boy wasn't important, but all of Zork's words went unheard. Bakura wanted to put the blame on Zork, but he knew it was his own fault Ryou was gone. He was to blame not Zork.

Bakura sat staring silently out over the water of the oasis. His thoughts and memories of Ryou were running in over drive and were blending together, spinning like a slide-show inside his head. The tomb robber lowered his head so that his bangs covered his eyes, he bit his lip trying to stop himself, but the tears fell regardless.

X

Ryou's emerald eyes fluttered open meeting a mass of red, black and gold hair done up in an unusual style. The pharaoh. It was then everything hit him. He had told Bakura that he didn't want to left behind anymore, and then had waited for his dark outside but Bakura never came so he left his home away from home, but how did he get here? Did he pass out?

"Ryou, what happened to you? What did Bakura do to you?" Pharaoh Yami accused immediately, not even bothering to asking if he was alright or anything. He couldn't believe this, Bakura hadn't seriously hurt him since long before the power outage and yet here was someone who didn't even know Bakura, accusing him so bluntly.

"He didn't do anything to me." Ryou spat coldly, forcing his aching body to sit up right. He felt filthy having not bathed since the day he left the oasis, however long ago that was, and his hair was mess and by the look on Pharaoh Yami's face he didn't believe in Bakura's innocence. Today really was one of those bad days. After he got cleaned up he could think of a way to get back to Bakura.

"Ryou... it's okay. You can tell me," Pharaoh Yami soothed, trying to pry information that didn't exist from him.

"A bath. Can I take a bath?" Ryou interjected, his fingers tightly gripped the thin sheet that covered him, choosing to change the subject before jumping to Bakura's defense and getting himself in trouble.

Thankfully Pharaoh Yami agreed to allow him to clean himself up. He stared that the bath he would be using, it was nothing more than a hole in the floor with water in it. Ryou stripped down to his boxers, he refused to take them off while Yami was watching him. Bakura as the only one to he would allow to see that much of his body.

Ryou slipped into the freezing cold water. His mind wandered back to his first night here in the past. He had dreamed about what almost happened, that kiss, and what he wanted to happen, for years, since Duelist Kingdom. Never did he dream it would feel so good, having Bakura's body pressed against his, Bakura's hands exploring him, Bakura's lips on his own, Bakura's... Ryou's face flushed when he thought about _that_ part of Bakura's body being pressed against him. Ryou was silently thankful he was immersed in icy cold water.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply and sank beneath the surface, this would have to do without soap or shampoo. He resurfaced and attempted to wash himself the best he could also trying to keep his thoughts away from that day with Bakura. He sighed as his thoughts turned to a more depressing subject involving his dark.

Has Bakura noticed he was gone? Did Bakura even care? Was he worried? Did Bakura look for him? Did Bakura even want him back? What was wrong with Bakura anyways? He chewed on his bottom lip once again trying to get his mind of the sexy thief king whom was haunting his thoughts, there was nothing he could do at the moment. He had gotten the hint that Yami Yugi wasn't just going to let him walk out of here, and certainly not back to Bakura.

~*~

Ryou sat at a large table surrounded by his chattering friends, he had his elbow propped up on the table and rested his cheek bone on his knuckles. He looked like the walking dead, he was paler than normal and extremely depressed, and was completely uninterested in anything anyone said. This was always how it was when he was separated from his dark, his soul would ache, the feeling of loneliness would strike and depression would follow.

Bakura's end of the mind link was cold, deserted and empty, however this was nothing new, Ryou had figured it had something to do with whatever was wrong with his dark. He knew Bakura was ill, that something was wasn't right. It was Bakura who put an end to passionate kissing that had almost resulted in sex, he was the one who walked away, it that moment he didn't see Bakura as the man he has teased about wearing a skirt and had chased him down playfully, no he had seen someone that wasn't him at all. He could have sworn that he had seen a hint of fear, but had dismissed it then. The more time he had spent around Bakura the more he changed, and not in the good way either...

Ryou had gotten so caught up in reflecting on the changing Bakura he hadn't realized that Yugi had asked him a question. "Well Ryou, what do you think?" Ryou shot them a puzzled look.

"Excuse me? Could you repeat the question... I must have zoned out. Sorry." Ryou apologized not realizing he had used Egyptian in his sentence, which he had picked up from Bakura. This caused everyone to stare at him like he was growing another arm or something. "What?"

"Where did you learn to speak Egyptian?" Pharaoh Yami asked accusingly. Ryou glanced at him with a look of sheer distaste, he now understood how is dark could hate someone so much, just looking at the man made him physically ill. The man was paranoid about everything, and when it came to his dark all he did was throw around accusations.

"Bakura taught me, so I could go to the market without him having to translate for me and so I wouldn't get ripped off." Ryou replied innocently, flashing them all a with an uncharacteristic smirk. The great-almighty-lord-of-all-things-pure Pharaoh looked as if he had lost a duel.

"The market?" Yami stuttered out in shock. He sat down, unable to handle the news of Bakura doing something nice.

"Yes, he gave me money and let me go spend it how I wished, however the vendors took advantage of me because I couldn't speak their language and always ripped me off. Bakura had to stay with me to make sure I got what I paid for," Ryou explained unnecessarily, enjoying the looks on everyone's face, "and if they tried to rip me off, he would deal with it."

Ryou tilted his chair back, as they stared at him, a look of disbelief on their faces. Since coming to this time Bakura didn't mistreat him at all, other than not speaking to him, but that wasn't abusive nor mistreatment. Ryou sighed and tried to think of a way to get out of here and back to his dark, but soon began to wonder if that was a good idea, Bakura was sick, as in something was wrong with him and what if that illness affected his judgment? Making Bakura return to his old abusive ways... no Bakura wouldn't hit him again. He just wouldn't and thinking like this wasn't going to help the situation.

"You're kidding right?" Anzu's question hung in the air, it was the one question everyone wanted to ask, but she was the one who voiced it. Everyone's eyes stayed focused on Ryou, looking to see if he was in fact being dishonest with his last statement on Bakura's behalf.

"No, I'm not kidding. I mean he got upset at the amount of his money I would spend, he said he didn't know it was possible for someone to spend so much at one time... but that was it..." Ryou repeated the memory from a couple days ago. "He also taught me how to ride a horse."

However it didn't take Ryou long to figure out that they weren't going to believe him and that playing Bakura off as a nice person wasn't going to work. Ryou sighed again and prodded the mind link he shared with his dark.

/Bakura... are you there?/

And yet he got no reply, but he couldn't figure out why. Maybe Bakura _was_ glad he was gone...

~*~

Zork had become more restless since Ryou's disappearance. Bakura had lost interest in his plans to get revenge on the Pharaoh, all he seemed to care about now was finding his hikari. He had to get Bakura back on track, which meant blocking out Ryou's mind link messages, the boy had become an obstacle, a liability, and with the boy out the picture he could claim all of Bakura's mind. Just as soon as Bakura realized that his hikari was dead, even if it wasn't true. Ryou's choice to leave couldn't have come at a better time, if Ryou was still here there was a chance Bakura may not of wanted to go through with the original plan, that Bakura would have chosen to remain with his light, instead of completing the task fate had set for him.

Zork had been blocking out the boy's mental message all day, however Bakura was still lost in self-pity and depression and he was still blaming himself for Ryou not being here. To be completely honest he had no idea the spirit, Bakura felt so strongly towards his light... now that Ryou was gone Bakura was an emotional wreck, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

Zork had to get Bakura to his village... after that he could move on to a new and better host, after all it is at that village Bakura's life would end. Getting Bakura to Kuru-Eruna now seemed to be impossible as Bakura was still wrapped up in his thoughts of Ryou, this would take more manipulation then he had originally planned.

-Bakura-

~...~

Zork growled at Bakura's lack of interest and response. The spirit was now being difficult, however Zork was up to challenge, he had to be. Bakura was his chosen host for now, and would remain it until he was dead, once Bakura was dead he could finally break free of his prison inside Bakura's mind and be released upon the unsuspecting world, and only one who had the power to stop him... had walked away and was now missing.

-Bakura! Ryou is gone no amount of crying or regret is going to bring him back-

Zork offered comforting, hoping Bakura would fall into the trap of manipulation, much to his surprise Bakura responded and went for the bait. Bakura was normally more aware of tricks and traps, his mind always questioning the hidden motive, but not this time.

-You must let it go. He knew better than to leave, you told him the dangers of your world and he left anyways, this is not your fault-

~I didn't tell him all the dangers... I didn't...~

-Bakura, I thought you didn't care about him... but you do... it is understandable... but he's gone and he isn't going to come back... You know who is to blame for this... the pharaoh. He murdered your people. He drove you to revenge and obsession. He _made_ you want revenge and he was the one who is responsible for driving the wedge between you and your hikari-

Bakura fell silent and listened to Zork, finding it easy to place the blame on Atemu. Blaming someone else for your mistakes was easier than admitting your own wrongs and taking the blame for yourself, for your own mistakes, for _his_ own mistakes. Bakura knew deep down that Zork was wrong and this wasn't true... but it was so easy to believe... so easy to relieve the guilt.

-He took Ryou from you... now make him pay. This is all his fault! He took your home, your family, your friends, your life and now he has taken your hikari from you, and you plan on letting him get away with this?-

~No... no... no I won't~

-Now, shall we finish what we started... only now you not only want revenge for your people, but for Ryou too... remember that-

Zork mentally patted himself on the back. Bakura was in a weakened state... so easy to take advantage of. Bakura was fragile now and be easily swayed, thus the reason for him wanting Ryou out the picture, permanently.

~*~

Ryou had broken off from the group, he found it odd that he could see, hear and talk to them, but no one else other than Yami Yugi could. Not only that, but that everyone in this land could see and hear him, but not Yugi Anzu, Jou, or Honda.

He sat alone of the palace stairs, looking out at the desert, his mind returned to the subject that had plagued him since he had awoke; Bakura. He tried to push the depressing thoughts from his mind, he tried to think of other things, but it was useless. Bakura was like a plague on his own. He worked his way into Ryou's life, and his heart, and infected every cell of his body with emotions he had never felt for another person before. He wondered again what Bakura was doing, if Bakura missed him, if Bakura had even noticed he was gone.

"It's Bakura! He's at the village known a Kuru-Eruna!" Ryou froze at the mention of his darks name and the village his dark had once called home. The voice, the soft spoken voice... that voice belonged to Isis.

Ryou shot to his feet and followed the sound of Isis' voice. He ran as fast as he could, this could be his only chance to leave the palace and see Bakura again, even if his dark did not want to see him. Ryou pushed his way towards Atemu, giving the man a heated glare when he was looked down upon as if he was nothing.

"I'm going with you." Ryou stated coldly, not backing down from Atemu's gaze, he wasn't going to step down. He had to see his dark again. He just had to.

"No! Bakura is dangerous, you'll just get-"

"In the way? I doubt that! I know Bakura better than you ever will..." Ryou paused, forcing his mind to come up with something, finally he chose to rip a page out of Bakura's book and bluffed it, and very convincingly too, "I know how to stop him!" Ryou almost shouted, trying to get his point across. He was lying, but that didn't matter anymore, all the mattered was Bakura.

The look that had attacked Atemu's face was one of disbelief, if Ryou did in fact know how to stop Bakura... his knowledge would be needed, was it a chance he was willing to take? He knew Ryou well enough to know what Ryou would not hand over such priceless information to him, meaning we would have to take Ryou along.

"You can stop him?"

"I've stopped him before, remember? Monster World and Duelist Kingdom. Damn it Yami I know him, I live with him, I shared my body, my mind and my soul with him, I know him! Better than any of you could ever know! I'm going with you." Ryou breathing intensified, he knew the look in Yami's eyes, the Pharaoh believed him.

"Okay... you can come...," Yami gave in, but something inside of him still held some doubt about Ryou and his intentions.

X

The ride to the small village of Kuru-Eruna was less than exciting, Yami had gone ahead with Mana, Yugi and the others had stayed behind to find the Pharaoh's name (something he already knew but wasn't about to share) and he was currently riding his horse in line with Seth. The animal was moving as fast as it could, but it just wasn't fast enough for him with Bakura being so close. He wondered what Bakura's reaction to seeing him would be.

Ryou had been thinking about Bakura's life story and the time line he was currently in... that's when the realization hit Ryou like a ton of bricks. This is the part of story where Bakura dies and is sealed into the Ring. Bakura's life was supposed to end at Kuru-Eruna. As much as he wanted to see the Pharaoh fall he wasn't going to let this take Bakura's life again.

The village came into view, there was something about it that just wasn't right... the whole area was engulfed in a wave of Shadow Magic. It felt so dark and wrong. As soon as they entered the ocean of shadow magic they were attacked by the lost and lonely souls. Ryou shuddered, he could feel Bakura's presence, all he had to was find him.

Ryou pulled on the horse's reins, forcing the massive and powerful animal to stop, the lost souls of Bakura's family and friends attacked Seth and the others, but didn't pay any more attention to Ryou than if he was a rock. Ryou took off, he ran towards the shadow magic's core, that was where Bakura would be.

Ryou quickly found the stairs that lead down into darkness. Bakura was down there.

X

Bakura had just finished telling the Pharaoh about what is father had done to his village, his people, his family, his home, what he had bared witness to. All done to create the golden trinkets. He was about to continue when he heard familiar foot steps as they ascended the stairs towards them. The hand that held the bag of Millennium Items he had stolen thus far tightened around the bag as his hopes rose. He had lived with Ryou and knew Ryou's foot steps from the night time walks to get a glass of water and the like. The slight pause between his fifth and sixth step had pulled Bakura's attention from the pharaoh standing before him to the stairs, his throat went dry and pulse quickened.

Zork quickly found his plan had back fired on him, it was time to do something drastic, he fished through Bakura's memories until he found a very explicit dream that had occurred during the power outage, one that brought both obscene jealously and raging doubt as to Ryou's loyality rushing forward at the time, a dream of Ryou in the Pharaoh's bed. Perhaps it would enough to cause a rift in the reunion.

He could feel Bakura's doubt beginning to swell and take shape however all of it vanished when Ryou stepped out of the darkness and locked eyes with his dark. What happened next was like a scene out of one of those cheesy romance movies, well sort of, as Ryou ran towards Bakura. Atemu grabbed Ryou's arm but he pulled himself free and collided with Bakura, clinging to him for dear life. Bakura reaction was delayed at best, his brain wasn't keeping up with that was going on around him.

Ryou was alive.

_Ryou is alive._

Bakura slowly caught up with the rest of world and wrapped his arms around his hikari, but he wouldn't let go of the bag in his hand. Bakura remembered where he was and who was here with him... the Pharaoh... and the look in Atemu's eyes at the moment... _that dream_... caused Bakura pulled Ryou even closer to him, just to make sure the pharaoh knew who Ryou belonged to.

/I'm so sorry... sorry... I am sorry!/ Ryou repeated through their mind link as he continued to cling to his dark.

/I'm the one who should be sorry... this is all my fault. Oh, Ryou. I was beyond worried... I-I thought you were dead. Why didn't you try to contact me?/

/I did, several times... I thought... you were ignoring me... that you didn't want me around anymore/

Bakura froze at Ryou's last statement... he had tried... Zork! Zork had blocked out Ryou's mental messages! Bakura could feel his anger towards the darkness inside his mind rising he wanted nothing more than Zork to have his own body just so he could kill him.

Ryou felt Bakura's grip around him tighten, being in Bakura's arms like this, hearing those words made his heart soar. He buried his face into Bakura's chest, not daring to move and hoping this wasn't a dream.

/Ryou... don't ever pull a stunt like that ever again! You have no idea... I spent hours wandering the desert looking for you. Where were you at anyways?/

/The palace... the guards found me passed out and took me back there. They weren't going to let me come here. Yami said I would only get in the way/

Bakura anger towards everyone in this world was causing him to feel ill. Ryou was the only thing of any importance to him, and they were trying to take that from him too.

/I wish you hadn't of come here/

Bakura felt the overwhelming pain of rejection flowing through the mind link. He didn't want Ryou to watch him die. It was at this place on this day his life was fated to end and he hadn't wanted to put Ryou through that.

/I didn't want you to see what I have to do-/

/Oh, Bakura, please don't do this!/

Ryou's words echoed the sickening heartache and worry the boy was feeling and was trying so hard to cover up. Ryou pulled away from Bakura to look him in the eyes. As their gazes locked Bakura could see the pleading look. He couldn't bring himself to keep Ryou's stare and looked away.

Ryou let his anger about the situation take over in his words.

/If you die here, I'm going to back to my time alone! I don't want to go back without you. Damn it Bakura, you've changed so much, you worked so hard and all you're doing is throwing it all away. Doesn't any of this mean anything to you? I love you and I don't want to lose you, please, I'm begging you, don't do this/

/I can't. I have to get revenge.../

/Fuck Bakura! How are you going to get your revenge if you die and he lives? What kind of revenge is that? I don't know who is putting these idea's in your head, but you are smarted than this. You'll be dying for nothing! After you die this whole process will repeat itself like a never ending circle. A cycle where I'm the one left in ruins and you are dead, while Yami Yugi goes on his merry way and lives happy ever after!/

/Ryou-/

/Don't you think you deserve a happy ending? Doesn't any of this mean anything to you? Don't I mean anything to you?/

Ryou's words lingered in his mind... in his thoughts. Now he was faced with a choice he didn't want to make, but had to. He looked at the Pharaoh who was standing there with a look of shock on his face before looking back at Ryou. The battle inside of him was getting out of control and much to his own surprise he found Zork to be silent. Perhaps the dark voice was unable to argue with Ryou's words, was there even a valid argument to what Ryou said? No.

Bakura looked back at the Pharaoh, giving the man a nasty look before closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. He wanted time to think about this, but he wasn't granted that luxury. This decision had to be made now and on a sheer whim. What was more important to him; Ryou or Revenge?

"Ryou... I... I..."

~*~*~*~

See sglily, you're not the only one who can have a killer cliff-hanger.

So what will Bakura choose? Ryou or Revenge? Guess you'll just have to wait and read the next chapter.

Please, please click the review button... you know you wanna. Please? *does the puppy dog eyes*


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